Man gets a double arm transplant, starts feeling new hands

By Gene Ryan Briones on 06/08/2012 15:25 PST

52-year old Gabriel Granados of Mexico City raised his two newly implanted arms in front of the press yesterday. “This is wonderful that after being without hands for some time, all of a sudden I see new hands,” Granados exclaimed. Granados, who happens to be an agent for the financial unit of Mexico City’s prosecutors’ office, met an accident in January last year when he got electrocuted while giving instructions to a group of construction workers building a fence. Because of the severity of the electrical shock that badly burned his two arms, doctors had to amputate his two arms below the elbow section. The surgery was performed in early May, but Granados was only discharged from the hospital on Thursday this week.

Doctors said he has recovered well. The doctors from Mexico City’s National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition said that Granados is the first ever patient in Latin America to receive a double arm transplant. Dr. Martin Iglesias, head of the surgical team, said that Granados received the arms of a 34-year-old shooting victim. Dr. Iglesias also said that they had practiced the procedure on corpses before. “This is a very special day for Mexico from a scientific point of view,” National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition Director, Fernando Gabilondo, commented. At the press conference yesterday, Gabriel Granados said that the transplant was terrific and that he is starting to feel his new hands.